Wednesday, January 31, 2007

The Weight Watchin' Vegan Returns

My mom, Susan, the Weight Watchin' Vegan, is back today with another colorful lunch box creation. Today's lunch features a generous serving of Sweet Potato Salad(4 points) from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites.She veganized the salad by using soy yogurt in the Cilantro Lime Yogurt Dressing, and packed it with some carrot and celery sticks (free), 15 Triscuits (2 points), and one Cinnamon Raisin Gnu Bar(2 points).

About these "Flavor & Fiber" bars: my mom loves them. Each bar contains a whole heap o' fiber -- 12 grams, half an adult's daily value -- from a blend of whole wheat, oats, wheat bran, psyllium, flax, and millet. Bran and psyllium don't sound too appetizing to me, but she wants you all to know that her WW friends recently performed a side-by-side taste test, and "these taste much better than those Weight Watcher bars. They have the same points but they're better because they're all natural and aren't made with that artificial sweetener."

So there you go: another 8 point lunch with lots to enjoy! By the way, Susan was thrilled to hear that there were so many of you Weight Watching veggies out there -- thanks for all your kind words!

34 comments:

I know that Bryanna has several recipes that she morphs into WW friendly fare including cupcakes that I saw not too long ago!

I might have to get some of the bars for my mother-in-law. She is diabetic and has lots of problems and she does get hungry during the day. These might be perfect when she is on the go for work. I cannot stand artificial sweetner!! They leave a film in your mouth!! Yuck!

From a longtime lurker... I can vouch for both the lunchbox and the bars! I have that same box, as well as a few other Fit & Fresh containers. I love them! There's a variety of styles and sizes, and how convenient is a lunchbox with a built-in (and long-lasting!) ice pack?

As for the bars, they are so good. The texture is chewy and crispy and interesting, and the flavors are very true and clean. I'm a vegetarian and a former Weight Watcher, and while I believe in the program, I have issues with their "food" products. To make them light, low fat, and low in calories, they tend to be full of scary fillers, additives, and preservatives. But Susan and Gnu Foods prove that the WW program can be followed while maintaining an all-natural diet. Hip, hip, hooray!

Those bars sound really interesting, and it's nice that they have only as many points as the WW ones. That is one thing that really gets me about WW; they are about weight loss, not health, and so they rely on a lot of artificial sweeteners and fake foods. It's great to see a healthy substitution!

I've been thinking about getting one of those Fit & Fresh containers. I think they're cool. And I think they might be really good for sandwich based lunches. I first discovered them over at Amazon.com and then checked out the company's website.

I didn't know they carried them at Bed Bath & Beyond, and I'm all about using those 20% off coupons.

I think the coolest thing they make is the salad container which, if you haven't already seen it, holds like 4 cups of salad. It has an ice-pack built into the lid along with a compartment to hold your salad fork. The coolest thing is that there is also a compartment in the lid for your salad dressing that keeps the dressing separate from the salad until you are ready to eat it. Right before you eat your salad, you just turn this knob on the lid and it lets your dressing run down onto your salad. Then just just shake it up and you're good to go. I just think that is so cool. I WANT ONE!

I've been thinking about getting one of those Fit & Fresh containers. I think they're cool. And I think they might be really good for sandwich based lunches. I first discovered them over at Amazon.com and then checked out the company's website.

I didn't know they carried them at Bed Bath & Beyond, and I'm all about using those 20% off coupons.

I think the coolest thing they make is the salad container which, if you haven't already seen it, holds like 4 cups of salad. It has an ice-pack built into the lid along with a compartment to hold your salad fork. The coolest thing is that there is also a compartment in the lid for your salad dressing that keeps the dressing separate from the salad until you are ready to eat it. Right before you eat your salad, you just turn this knob on the lid and it lets your dressing run down onto your salad. Then just just shake it up and you're good to go. I just think that is so cool. I WANT ONE!

I've been thinking about getting one of those Fit & Fresh containers. I think they're cool. And I think they might be really good for sandwich based lunches. I first discovered them over at Amazon.com and then checked out the company's website.

I didn't know they carried them at Bed Bath & Beyond, and I'm all about using those 20% off coupons.

I think the coolest thing they make is the salad container which, if you haven't already seen it, holds like 4 cups of salad. It has an ice-pack built into the lid along with a compartment to hold your salad fork. The coolest thing is that there is also a compartment in the lid for your salad dressing that keeps the dressing separate from the salad until you are ready to eat it. Right before you eat your salad, you just turn this knob on the lid and it lets your dressing run down onto your salad. Then just just shake it up and you're good to go. I just think that is so cool. I WANT ONE!

I love the fact that Susan is not only concerned with losing weight, but also with a natural diet. A lot of people assume that because they lose weight on a program, means they are getting healthy. It sounds like the Weight Watcher foods are filled with yucky artificial ingredients and not very healthy at all, even if they are low in calories.

Way to go Susan! I hope you will continue to share your lunches with us!

I love that you are showing these adult lunches, thanks! I think it is great that your mom is doing this. I know that since I have been more careful about avoiding dairy, my feet have stopped hurting when I get up after sitting for a while, which I suspect was arthritis, even though I am only 36! I am going to check out those bars and start thinking about my healthy lunches again. This is just the inspiration that I need. Thanks again!

Fantastic post! Your mom's lunches look great. Thanks for sharing! I have that Moosewood cookbook and haven't used it much. Will have to dig it out and flip through it for some recipes! Sweet Potato Salad sounds good. :) Regarding the carrots, I did WW as a vegetarian, not vegan, and followed the Core plan so I only had to count points for non-Core foods. Don't know if the program is different in Canada than the US but here, 1 cup of cooked carrots is 1 point and 1 cup of uncooked or 10 baby carrots is 0 points. If you're following Core plan, carrots are a Core food regardless. This info comes from the new book that was issued up here at the beginning of the year.

WOW looks delicious!! By the way, I made your quinoa-amaranth timbale last night and it was AMAZING!! Served it with slow-cooker black beans (subbed smoked paprika for the liquid smoke) and some balsamic-glazed rainbow chard. YUM!

I'm currently on WW as well, it is so much easier as a vegan because most of my main meals have always been low in fat, it was all of the sweets that put on the pounds. So now I snack on fruit instead (and if i'm really craving something sweet I make it without oil and reduce the sugar), and the weight seems to be falling off thus far.

Congradulations to your mom. I have been on WW for almost two years. I am about 35 pounds overweight and have remained at the same weight for over a year. The issue for me really is the promotion of lots of food with chemicals etc. While I eat minimal amouts of dairy (mostly yogurt), I wax vegan most of the time. Thanks again for vegan WW discussion.

Thanks for the blog which my partner I have followed for a year. We love your book. You have given us ideas for our 4 year olds' food.

I have followed your blog for about 6 months now and have enjoyed it. I've gotten lots of ideas for my son's lunch. Although I am not vegan, I am slowly making the switch to vegetarian and trying to take my family with me (hence the slow part) I am on WW as well and appreciate these new posts with the point values. I also just bought the Moosewood Low Fat cookbook and looking forward to using it.

oh Jennifer, these two lunch boxes of your mom's look so wonderful, and I love the look of that southwest-y salad in the first one.

It also made me sad and happy at the same time...sad for my friends of my parents' and grandparents' generation who suffer the effects of poor nutrition, and how our time together will be shorter because of that. Not that I won't continue to try nudging them in the right direction with yummy and healthy food....and of course, happy that your mum has improved her quality of life! What a difference it makes.

I seem to remember you making Shmoo some taquitos. My DS (almost 3) loves the Nate's brand black bean and soy cheese taquitos, I'd like to duplicate them. It's all about unrolling the toritlla, eating the beans out of them and then eating the tortilla. Do you remember how you made them or aproximatly when (so I can look up the lunch)? Is it just basically some mashed seasoned black beans rolled in a tortilla and then "sauteed"? My tortillas always crack when I roll them. Help!

First - beth I used the search tab on the top of the page. March 16, 2006 is the date you're after.

Second - This blog has inspired me to look into Weight Watchers. I'm trying to get some opinions about Weight Watchers while being a vegan, and just WW in general. If anyone has any strong or not so strong opinions one way or the other could you visit my blog and post them? I'm trying to get some info before I plunk down the money to join. :)

Thanks so much for sharing that review of the Gnu bars! I do love the WW 2 pt bars, but would be happy to switch to a more natural version.

WW food products ARE highly processed and not as healthy as I wish they were. However, it is NOT fair to say that WW doesn't focus on healthy eating. They recommend eating healthy oils, lots of fiber, 5 or more servings of fruit/veggies, and other medically-proven healthy foods. I know we don't all agree on what is healthy, plus there are degrees of healthiness. (Which is worse if your main health threat is obesity, eating a processed 2 pt bar or eating a piece of high fat and sugar, all natural cake?) But WW is a solid program- not perfect, but very good (one heck of a lot better than the typical American diet!)Thanks again, Jennifer and Susan, for addressing the weight loss angle on this blog. I really enjoy reading about it!